MSM and a life update

Hmm, it seems as though all of my blogs lately have only been making something mondays.  So, for you people who want to keep up with me, the first part of the blog will be a wee update on my life.  For those of you who don't care, the weekly tip follows.  I promise I won't know if you just scroll down. 

So, what's going on right now?  Well Brandon is officially 26 days away from his appointed winging date.  Yes that's right, in less than 4 weeks I will be married to a real live Navy pilot.  However, he's not out of the woods yet.  He still has (I think) around 7 or 8 flights and who knows how much paperwork until he's done.  Hopefully he'll finish before the 26th!  From there, he has to officially decide between the P-3 and the EP-3 (basically the same plane, different jobs) and we'll be moving to Jacksonville, FL at some point after March.  When?...I don't know.  We can be there anywhere from 3 months to 9 months for his last stint of training and then from there, depending on the plane he gets, he'll be attached to a squadron and we may move again.  If we do, it's clear across the country, to either Washington or Hawaii.  We can be stationed to stay in Florida though.  So, we'll see.  I will soon be working on another painting for my sister, as well as some things for her upcoming nuptuals.  So you can be looking forward to, or just looking to see those things featured here soonish.  I've started a Beth Moore bible study "Believing God" at the church that we've been going to here.  It's an all women's study (which may go without saying since it's Beth Moore, but I don't really know if that's all she does or not.  It's the first time I've participated in a study written by her.)  We're 3 weeks in of a 10 week study and it seems like it's going to a really good study, especially with what we're facing in our future.  I'm hoping to get to finish the study with my group, but if not, there are ways to watch the videos online, but not the social interaction with the ladies.  The book is designed with daily studies, which I'm excited about since I've fallen away from being in the Word.  I'm not proud to admit that, but it's true.  Other that that, not a whole lot going on here.  Apollo has eaten the padding that I made for his crate.  He was pooping zipper bits for a couple of days, and now has to sleep on the hard plastic.  I'm guessing he's regretting the decision now (if dogs can regret) but considering the amount of wreckage, he had fun while it lasted.  Stupid dog. 

Ok then!  This week is another modgepodge of tips.  The first of which is a tea recipe which sounds really weird, but is suprisingly very good!

Grapefruit Tea
2 cups ruby red grapefruit juice (squeezed from 2 grapefruits, or from a bottle)
1/2 cup water
2 to 4 tablespoons honey
1 cinnamon stick (or just sprinkle some in there)
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice berries (I used ground allspice)

In a medium pot, combine juice, honey, cinnamon, allspice, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat; strain and discard solids. Serve with a grapefruit segment or strip of zest.

Sounds gross, I know, but it's actually really good.  Now, if you don't like grapfruit, you won't like the tea, because it still tastes a bit like grapefruit, but if you do then definitally try it! 

Now that you've got something to drink, I've found a new tip website (and by new, I do mean new to me) that I've only just begun (does the Carpenters song pop into anyone elses head just then?  No?  Just me?) to delve into, but it looks awesome!
http://www.tipnut.com/
It's got tips about green living, repurposing (even making your own feminine products, I kid you not) frugal living, crafts, pets, you name it!  Even how to save on baby stuff!  So go check it out in your free time!  

change of occupation?

To say that I'm a worrier is an understatement. I used to make myself literally sick with worry. However, with time I've found that I don't seem to worry as much. Maybe it's maturity (...unless someone farts outloud) maybe I've finally figured out that the Lord will provide and worry isn't very proactive. With that being said, this week has been a great test of faith. In the course of one week, there have been 4 military training planes go down. The first, happend this past wednesday a few miles off the coast of Corpus Christi. Some time in the afternoon a T-34 lost contact with the tower and they have been unable to locate anything. No bodies, no scraps, nothing. Then, yesterday in california a C-130 collided with a marine chopper midair. Apparently today a chopper in Whiting field, a heliocopter had a "very hard landing." These are just the example of military trainers, there have been numerous other crashes recently (two others come to mind just here in corpus) dealing with airplanes. I never worried much about Brandon, because I figured that with an instructor in the cockpit, the chances of disaster were greatly diminished. Apparently not. Although Brandon isn't currently flying, he will be in the next month, and I'm not sure I am strong enough to fight off that knot that twists my stomach when worry seeps in. While in reality, I know the chances of being involved in a car accident are far greater than airplane crashes, that's really only because there are far fewer planes in the sky. You can easily survive a car accident, plane crashes rarely end happily. I know these worry come with the military lifestyle, but that doesn't make it easier.

Attention shoppers!

Since we're still settling in I've been listening to a lot of tv lately. (I just like having some noise other than *hammer hammer....hammer......tap tap.....hammer* Did I paint a good picture for you, did you feel like you were here moving in with us? No? Weird...) Anyhow, I realize that most of you guys are HUGE snuggie fans! (And by huge fans, I do mean huge fans of making fun of them.) Well, now your whole family can be outfitted in a snuggie, because yes they make doggie snuggies! Take the slanket loosers! I can't tell you how often Apollo complains about not being able to read and stay warm at the same time, but now he could stay warm in his very own snuggie. (and yes, they propped a book into the paws of the model dog in the new commercial...not even joking) Sorry weirdo cat people, the snuggists don't care if your cat freezes to death and can't read without their legs staying warm. I wish I could find the new commercial to link, but I couldn't, so you'll just have to keep your eye/ear out for it and drop everything you're doing to watch it, because apparently life is also so much more fun once you get a snuggie.

You should also check this out, it's a little crass, but amusing
wtf snuggie

do you want some cheese with that whine?

We're here and have furniture! However, getting that furniture was quite the fiasco. Let's back up a little shall we? To last Thursday when all of our things were swept away. (insert flashback music and hazy fog here, you know, if you want.) The mover's were not thrilled with the "quality" nor quantity of our belongings. I'm not going to lie, we have some nice furniture due to the generosity of our parents/grandparents who were getting rid of their old things. Nothing matches, but everything goes pretty well. Our willingness to mooch has paid off very well in our favor. Anyhow, we do have some pieces from our childhood/college days that are particle board and not the greatest of quality. Mostly bookcases and such storage things. Yes, we could get rid of them, but then we lose storage. The movers openly hated these things because they can't stack stuff on them, and so it takes up more space in their truck. However, they didn't like our washer/dryer, our tv, or our mattress because they were too heavy and were of better quality, so if they ruin them they'll be out a chunk of change. Whine whine whine. If you don't like hauling people's stuff, don't be a mover. It's a little tip from me to you. You're welcome. Point of our flashback is though, that they movers whined about everything. Why'd we live upstairs? Why do we have junk furniture? Why is it so hot, can't we turn on the ac while we keep your door open? I tried to stay pleasent and told them that we were at least downstairs now, so it'll get easier...I was wrong, but I tried. (we do live on the first floor....I did know that)



So, now were returning back to yesterday (the hazy fog can lift now) The movers arrived around 8:30 in the morning to discover that they couldn't pull the 18 wheeler into the gate. (we had been told they could, we did ask the office about that) So, they were already mad at me about that because apparently I'm supposed to know the capabilites of an 18 wheeler. Unfortunately, the office didn't open for another hour and a half, so we had to keep the exit gate open somehow. It is not motion sensored, but weights sensored as I discovered while waving around like a loon trying to open the gate. I'm not the most fit person on the planet, but I don't weigh a ton, so I couldn't open the door alone. Oh, did I mention Brandon was at work? No? Well, he was. However, his mom was gracious enough to offer to help and we were smart enough to accept. She sat in her car blocking the gate sensor for an hour and a half in order to keep that gate opened! If she wasn't there, I don't know what I would have done! So, they had to walk our stuff a good 100 feet (at least) to move everything in. I think it got up to almost 99 degrees, and it was hot and gross. I know it was hard work, but all I heard the whole day was; Why couldn't we live closer? Why do we have so much junk? Where are we going to put all of this junk? Why is the water so nasty? Nothing's going to fit in here! Why do I have to fix the leg I broke off of your dryer that I conveniently didn't notice that I broke? Oy! But all of our stuff is here and fairly unharmed! The dog is still slightly confused, but we're adjusting :)

oh the places you will go

Well my little blog world buddies, we are no longer prisoners of Florida! Nope, we once again are residents in the state of Texas! Well..that is for like 8 months and then we'll be back in Florida. The packers came Wednesday, and did an ok job. They wouldn't pack some stuff away, which was weird. I know they won't take explosives or flammables, but why couldn't they put the tennis rackets in a box? Why does our wicker hamper have to tumble around the truck? Why did my piggy soap dispenser and dish scrubber (both full of soap btw) get wisked off and wrapped into some box that is probably very clean now, but other soaps didn't get taken? I understand the chemical cleaners, but the hand soaps? Anyhow, life goes on. The next day the movers came to take our boxes and furniture into the gigantinourmous 18 wheeler. They made sure we knew that they hated our cheap furniture, our heavy furniture, and pretty much everything we had. Which was nice to know. They whined a lot actually...but everything got packed away and we said goodbye to our things once again. Friday we headed off, packed up the dog and hit the road. The dog does not like the road. Luckily for me I didn't drive with him. Unluckily for Brandon.....well you can figure it out. We drove from P'cola to Baytown Texas on the first day. Apollo even got to sleep outside of his box for the first time since we purchased the crate at the hotel. I don't think he knew what to do with that. He slept on the bed with us, but for a little while he would walk all over us as if to say "um...are you alive, you forgot to put me in the crate, which I don't mind, but is this ok?" Saturday morning we got up and hit the road again and arrived in Corpus before lunchtime, signed our lease and began moving into our new home. Our stuff comes tomorrow, so I'll take pictures once we're settled in a little. Only one more night on an airmattress! Hopefully....unless the movers have lost/destroyed the items or decide not to come tomorrow. I'm looking forward to being able to cook again. Note to self...bring at least a pan with you next time!

the Elms go to the movies

I finally got around to seeing The Julie/Julia Project! You're probably thinking "Uh finally? Goober, it's only been out for a little over a week!" A week in the theaters is generally like a year to Brandon, and he can hardly wait a day after movies come out. He's a bit obsessed. I love him though. Anyhow, I saw it. The reviews are correct, that there definitally could be more to the story, and you are left wanting more, however, I loved it! I saw a lot of myself in Julie. She's just trying to figure out something to fulfill her life beyond going to work everyday, and coming home to her loving husband and cat every night, and she does in cooking. She becomes obsessed with Julia Child (obviously) and you go along her life in trying to cook her way through the book. She has misshaps in the kitchen, and meltdowns when things don't work out as she thinks they should that cause reactions a lot like my own. Brandon and I laughed really hard when she starts crying in the kitchen...because I've done the same. (all during this time they flash back to Julia's life, which is nothing like mine, but is very good and interesting and Meryl Streep is a genious actress in this movie!) It's a great light hearted movie that'll make you laugh, not cry, and even think a little. I give it 4/5 spoons. And no, I will not be baking my way through the cake mix doctor and documenting it in a blog. Or will I? No...probably not. Hopefully soon though, I will be able to get back to Confections of a Bakeaholic after we move and I get my kitchen stuff back. I am now wanting to read the book that inspired the movie, maybe I'll get it to read on the road. Well, not on the road, since I'll be driving, but in the hotel. You know what I meant.

Got a little story for you Ags..ok, well really for everybody, but whatever

As you know we're moving about a week. So, in order to avoid the catastrophe that occured when we rolled into Pensacola (scrambling to find housing before the movers came to avoid our stuff being put into storage, so we ended up signing a lease the day we arrived) we decided to take a quick trip down to Corpus to ensure we had a roof over our head by the time we actually head down there with all of our belongings. Sounds easy right? Planning ahead, being all responsible and such. Yeah...didn't work out quite as we planned. We rolled into town Monday night after 12ish hours of driving, checked into the Navy lodge and passed out. Tuesday, we headed over to the housing office all bright eyed and bushy tailed to talk to the ladies about on and off base housing. We got a plethora of options, and were feeling really optimistic! That's when it all went downhill, as all good stories do.

First, we checked out the on-base housing. For houses that are only 4-5 years old, these things are already falling apart. I realize they were cleaning up before the next tenants moved in, but what did the last people do to that poor house!? So, we quickly decided that we were in fact not going to live on base and headed back to the hotel to make a game plan for checking out the houses and apartments that the housing people showed us. One of the real estate companies insisted that we drive by the houses they were in charge of first, before they came out to show us the house. It didn't make much sense to us either, until we saw the first couple of houses....yikes. I think they were about to literally fall apart. Duct tape couldn't even save these places. Our standards aren't really all that high. I'm not looking for granite countertops or a spiraling marble staircase or anything (I wouldn't turn them down either....but that's besides the point) So, we headed out to North Padre Island where "everybody lives" to check out some condo rentals. All we found were overpriced, poorly constructed homes, and no one out there likes dogs over 25 lbs if they like them at all. Getting rid of Apollo is NOT an option, not even for waterfront property. So, we went back into the city to look at aparments to find that they don't really like dogs either, nor did they like space. We don't live in a mansion by any means, but we do have more than 3 pieces of furniture, and we couldn't fit them into these places. We even spoke with an apartment finder, and she lead us to one place that would allow our poor puppy and had enough space for us. She then told us that that was our ONLY option, she told us that was the ONLY apartment in the whole city that had washer/dryer hook ups and would allow for Po. So, we at least knew that we had one option by the end of the very aweful day.

We ended up going to HEB to pick up an apartment guide and I must tell you, it was a gift from God, and honest answer to much prayer! We found numerous listings for places and felt renewed and optimistic once more for the following day. We probably looked at 10 places by 2pm, each one surprisingly got progressivly worse. That is until we came across our new home. It's perfect. Walkable distance to the grocery store and other restaurants, not too far from the base, great size, beautiful landscaping, but most importantly its cheaper than what we're paying now, and it allows for Apollo!!!! We're so excited and so relieved to find a place. We don't feel like we're settling for whatever we could find, we're actually excited to move in! It's amazing to see God answer prayer so quickly! I knew He'd provide, but to be honest, I was getting concerned. We're so thankful that we were able to head down early, because if we just rolled into town with all of our belongings like we did last time. I'm pretty sure I'd have a twitch and be blogging from a mental institution. However, we were able to, God provided as He always does, and we won't be homeless! Hooray!

looking back

on the memory of...our move away. Yes folks, one year ago today (on a Friday the 13th) we let the movers into our apartment and watched as they packed away all of our things in what seemed like hundreds of boxes and drove them away. We also had our lovely neighbors decide to bbq on the shared porch, allowing all of the billowing smoke to pour into our apartment, thus irritating our movers eyes and throats so that they were no longer happy movers. Stupid Swede neighbors.

It began our nomadic week of living in various La Quinta Inns, putting up with an apparent cheerleading competition, the contestants of which also stayed in the Inn in college station...(..yeah.....and we were right by the pool. Fun times.) Buying our first car, looking for shelter in a terrible rain storm, finding a place to live in a day. We were so young, so naive and wide eyed at the prospect of living in Florida. The beach at our disposal, oranges, hurricanes...that's all we knew about Florida pretty much. Now, a year later, we're praying to get to move back to Texas...ironic, don't you think. (Not many blogs quote Garth Brooks and Alanis Morrisette in one post, I'm just that talented)

Just about now, well depending on when you're reading this, I am training for my new job. Though it's not my dream job or anything, it is a very welcome opportunity! I am so very excited :D

Taxing day

I know the title is a really bad pun, but it's me. It was a taxing day as well as a day of taxi-ing. I found out that I no longer have an internship with the bakery because the lady that hired me, up and quit today after a long battle with the owner. She really needed to get out of there, because she was grossly underpaid for doing around 60% of the work. However, it's really sad and I'm just trying to figure out what to do next. Anyhow, Brandon's training division held a spouse taxi day today, where we got to wear our husbands flightsuits (which yes, Brandon and I are about the same size, so I lucked out and wasn't swimming in the suit like some wives were) and got a custom patch with our names embroidered on it. We were given a brief where they told us about safety and just what we'd be doing in the planes. Then, we got to hop into a static display to learn how to strap in and what not to touch, and then got into a real plane with a training instructor and taxied down the runway. It was a lot of fun getting a teeny tiny taste of what our husbands go through everyday. It gets pretty darn toasty in those suits though let me tell you! It's like a sauna in those planes! All the husbands were really excited though, it was funny talking to the other wives about our husbands laying out our clothes for us like our parents on our first day of school and giving us the very long and detailed low down on all the knobs/switches/guages in the plane (greatly scaring us!) I think every husband had a camera too, and were taking pictures as we loading in the planes and took off and taxied and stood around. It was funny, but very sweet and a nice distraction!

Things that make me think "hmmmm"

The title of this blog was inspired mainly due to Brandon's naval task for the day. They assign a flight student to "taxi duty" (or something like that) in which they have to sit at home by their phone all day waiting if someone needs a ride from the airport to the base (or vice versa.) I guess they only have a slight idea of who my need the service, but other than that, you pretty much can't do anything all day long. I can't either because the one person Brandon was informed of in need of his vehicular services, needs his own car moved from Whiting field to the Pensacola regional airport. Since I doubt the guy would be kind enough to drive Brandon back to Whiting field to pick up his car, I need to follow. The thing is, we don't know what time this guy's flight is. I'm not even sure if he's on a commercial flight, or flying himself. If he is flying himself, why is he leaving the plane in Pensacola? You'd think that a naval air base would follow schedules of flights more carefully. Unless perhaps they frequently have surprise visits. Hmmmm.

seedling to a sapling

I'm not sure if a seedling is a real term or not, but it just seemed to flow better than "seed to sapling." Why does it need to flow? I don't know, it just does. A year ago (tomorrow) Brandon and I were just a seedling couple. Just married, trying to make our way putting down roots, and trying to break through the soil to reach the sunlight. Now, a full year later, we're a little bitty sapling, still fragile but better rooted and not so much in danger of being eaten by a bird or small rodent. Now we just have to watch out for full bladdered dogs...and woodpeckers...and perhaps termites. Maybe being a tree isn't such a good analogy. Anyhow, It's been a very interesting journey full of ups and downs and many many learning experiences. We've been through a frustrating employment, a graduation, our first move to our first duty station, our first car, some of flight school, a frustrating unemployment, a new puppy, first camping trip, our first Thanksgiving, our first Christmas, first New Years (which we were both sick, and didn't go see the pelican drop) and now unfortunately a death. My Papaw, a former B17 pilot in the Army Air Corps during WWII, has been battling Alzheimer's for the past few years, but was still able to make our wedding a year ago. I was extremely happy they could make it then, but now, I'm even more glad I got to spend some time with them. During this past year, his health has rapidly declined and we're finding ourselves having to say a very hard goodbye to a wonderful man. If you guys could just pray for him to pass without pain, strength for my Mamaw (who's also been sick in the hospital being treated for dehydration) in dealing with this tough time, as well as my Mom and her brother and sister, I'd really appreciate it. I know most of the people who read this know the power of prayer and walk with the Lord, which is the only reason why I'm posting this here.

oy vey

Well blog world folks, Thanksgiving has come and gone once again. I realized the other day, that I have not celebrated the holiday in the same location in the past 5 years. In '04 I was in San Antonio, '05 Brenham, '06 Amarillo, '07 Los Angeles, '08 Pensacola. This year, however, we ate out at a nice restaurant down town. The food was absolutely wonderful, but I hated knowing that the people there were missing out on family time because of people like us. On the flip side, I hope they earned time and a half, plus great tips to make up for it just a little. I would have been willing to cook, but Brandon's family wanted to eat out, I think to make things easier on me. Now, I don't have to worry about eating Turkey until I explode.

Black Friday, I always avoid shopping if at all possible. Crowds frighten me. So, we went to the Naval Air Museum. Since moving here, it was our 5th time and yet we still experience new things! If you get the chance, go, its free and well worth the time! (Product placement aside, lets get down to the 'lovely' story to follow. If you've got a weak stomach, you may want to proceed with caution.) Poor Apollo couldn't go, and was stuck in his crate all day long, as well as half of Saturday. He was understandably not happy about this, and I'm not sure if it was because of the stress of these couple of days, or if he ate something, but he was a sick puppy come Saturday. I won't go into the gory details, but let's just say he had (and still has) the runs. He couldn't hold it in the box, then tried to hide it, by eating it, because I think he thought he'd get into trouble. He did that Saturday and Sunday evenings while we were asleep. Gross thing to wake up to. Then last night, he just went insane in his box! Whining and biting at the door and trying so hard to get out, because he had to go. We don't want to let him out when he "yells" so he doesn't think that's appropriate. Just a couple of whines and we'll come if he needs out, but he just kept going and going. Brandon has 4 tests in the next 2 days and needed sleep, so I got up at 3:30 in the morning to let him out and sit with him, so he wouldn't cry anymore. Oh my goodness, the smell that met my nose when I opened the bedroom door, I just don't want to relive that! I cleaned him off and the crate and took him outside, he did his business, and then we went back inside. As soon as he came in, he hurled all the um...sick...he'd been hiding by eating, all over the carpet. So 4:00 I'm cleaning up puppy puke that smells just awful, while fighting off the dog from eating the used paper towels. (At least his temperment is the same) Not a great morning for me...ugh. Poor little guy. If after today, he's still having um problems, I'm going to take him to the vet. I'm hoping whatever is giving him problems is out now.

hello holidays?

The first of November brings with it cooler weather and more importantly, the beginning of the holiday season! Halloween has come and gone (we actually had trick-or-treaters!!! 5 of them!!) costumes are put away and candy comatose children are beginning to think about Thanksgiving, and perhaps adding protein from turkey to their sugared diets. Despite how excited I am about the holidays, I'm sad this year about Thanksgiving. The past two years, I've gotten to spend it with Brandon's dad's side of the family, who make a big 'to-do' about the holiday. Its so warm and inviting and fun! Everyone chips in to make parts of the feast, and it's just one of those traditional "what you think of Thanksgiving to be" holidays. We didn't know Brandon's schedule in time to get tickets and file for leave for us to to this year though. This year, his mom and her side is coming to visit, and while it'll be really nice to see them and spend time with them, they want to eat at a restaurant for Thanksgiving. Now, I don't really want to cook a huge dinner by myself, (I'm not quite brave enough for that, and my kitchen is tiny.) Maybe I would be up for making a turkey cake like the photo of the one to the left. Isn't that cute!? But a restaurant seems like a cop out to me. Oh well, at least I'll get to watch The Game this year. I've also tried to start thinking about gifts for family for Christmas, and it's really hard! I don't have a solid idea for anyone! My husband just got his tax return and bought himself an xbox 360, so I won't even see him until next Halloween sometime, much less find a great gift for him! We're not even sure we'll get to go anywhere for Christmas either, because he'll start Primary in the middle of December. My happy holiday dreams are beginning to fizzle. At least my parents are coming next weekend! They're bringing me a pizzell maker, (a delicious cookie, kind of like a cross between a waffle and a crepe) so if we can't go home for the holidays, I'll have my favorite holiday cookie. We have a fireplace here too, so we could sit by the fire with our puppy, around my 2' fiber optic tree. Ahh, first year of marriage ghetto fab memories!

do what suits you

Hooray! The day has finally arrived that Brandon gets his flight suit! I guess on Wednesday he can start wearing it to class and everything. I'm so proud! His old uniform of course set him apart from the enlisted guys, but now everyone can tell just by looking at him in his green little jump suit, just what he's doing here. Not only does he get to wear this snazzy suit and boots, he's also been issued a state of the art helmet and leather bomber jacket. (I know, he's going to totally be in fashion this fall! Wives should get free leather jackets too...maybe not) His helmet has radio inside so he can hear air traffic controllers telling him to watch out for trees and buildings and such. It also comes complete with a leather sleeping mask. Brandon told me it was a "visor protector" but I know better. Here hs is with our little snoopy flying ace. Apollo was hoping all of those pockets were for doggie treats, but alas, they are not.

some positivity please

Ok, so not everything is so bad here. I never thought it was, but it certainly isn't home yet. Anyhow, I've had some breakthroughs. For instance, I purchased steak! It was well priced, and, it made it home! I cooked it, it came out well, we ate it and didn't get sick! All in all, it was a good dinner. Also, I've been wanting to take a cake decorating class, and the Hobby Lobby back home was holding classes, but they started as we were moving, so I was kind of bummed. But lo! I went to Michaels the other day, and it was pouring down rain so I was aimlessly wandering around until the deluge subsided. As I wandered, I went down the cake aisle only to find flyers for cake decorating classes starting in July. Not only that, they're half priced lessons! I think it was meant to be :) The first class is next monday, so I'll post how things go!

adventures of a Navy wife

Ooook....so, I can't honestly say that I understand now how military kids feel when they move from place to place. Let's face it, I've only moved once and I probably have many more to go. I'm just getting started! However, I can now imagine more clearly just how difficult it must be for them! Figuring out how to meet people and make new friends. Not having old friends or family within 100 miles of where you are now. Its really hard! Adjusting to a new city, and their crappy drivers (ok that may just be here) The only friendly faces are the ones that live with you. Not always having the military member of the family around for support. I'm a little more nervous about ever having kids. That and I went to wal-mart today. Wal-mart and birth control are synonomous for me. I like the low prices...don't like the evil children that scream and run amuck. I usually find myself contemplating getting my tubes tied in that store.

So what adventures am I talking about? I haven't really had any as of yet. I've only been here 2 weeks, and all last week was spent unpacking. The week before was living out of a hotel and sleeping on the floor of our apartment...and we bought a car. I guess that is exciting for me. However, husband has begun his initial flight school. He came home today to tell me that for the next 2 weeks, he's going to have school every day, and he only will get the 4th of July off (yep, school on the weekends too) I also shouldn't expect to see him much when he is home, because of the rigorous study schedule. Great...not only do I not know a soul here, now I don't even have my husband. I'm going to begin my job search this week, hopefully I'll find something. I need something to keep my mind busy, so I don't think about it so much. It'd also help if it'd stop raining... I apologize for the downer post today...

I love furniture

I really do. I never really thought about it, but furniture is a wonderful thing. Why my sudden affinity? We've now been in Florida for a whole week, granted 2 of those nights were spent in a hotel, but as everyone knows, no bed is like your own. The next 4 nights though were spent sitting and eating on the floor and sleeping on an air mattress. Sitting on the floor has its good moments, like when you're a kid eating off the floor for some reason was really cool. Or at least it was for me. However, there are times when a chair is just nessessary. The air mattress, may have been better than sleeping on the floor (although, I'm not too sure) it certainly wasn't very nice. We didn't have our blankets with us, so I found myself sleeping under a towel. Then came monday, and all of our glorious furniture came back to us! I got to sleep in my own sweet bed, and sit in my chair. Even better, I can cook again because my pots and pans are back! Unwrapping everything was like Christmas (especially since the movers packed for us, I didn't know what was in each box) Even though everything we opened was already ours, they were a sight for sore eyes!

becoming floridians

Moving to a new state means learning lots of new things all at once, such as....

*So apparently outside of Texas, highway speed limits only go up to 55 mph (that doesn't mean thats what they drive)

*Highways have two names, a name name like "Davis" and then a number name. Very confusing!

*These "highways" look suspiciously like 4 lane roads to me, with lights every 100ft and 35mph speed limits.

*You can't make left hand turns unless at a light on these "highways", because of medians in the middle of the roads

*These medians second as homes for homeless people that wheel up to your car and stare at you when stopped at a red light...

*The people loved Ron Paul. Or at least the people campaigning for him, because his name is literally on every phone pole!

*Access to the beach anytime, is awesome!

*dispite not having some places I liked back home, they do have steak n shake and thats a great thing!

What Works For Me (cleaning stove drip pans)

As if moving isn't stressful enough with the packing and organizing (and discovering you're transforming into the pack-rat you never wanted to become), the darn apartment complex also demands the place to be spit spot clean. I don't disagree with that, it would be frustrating to have to clean up after all of your tenants (especially considering bachelor's live in some of the units.) However, it seems like they're determined to discover any incriminating dirt to make an extra buck. The last place I lived charged $20 to replace one "dirty" stove top drip pan, plus 2 hours of labor (at $15 an hour) to fix it. You've got to be kidding me. So, this time, I decided that I'd try to make sure that those pans were dazzling clean before we left. Of course if you've ever tried to accomplish this (short of using explosives...) it's much easier said than done.

I have previously tried steel wool to grind away at the baked on mess, but it ended up just scratching the metal, and not doing much of a number on the crust. So this time, I tried the old Heloise fall back on letting a solution of baking soda and water sit on the stains for a couple of hours. It worked pretty well, but not quite well enough, thus driving me to the internet for answers. A lot of people recommend the steel wool trick, but knowing that won't work on these cheap pans, I was determined to find something better, without having to buy anything new. Then I found it, just make a solution of dishwashing liquid (or powder) and very hot water and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Some recommend boiling water, adding the soap and letting the pan sit in the water overnight. I'm not that patient. I was a bit skeptical, it sounded too simple, but it actually worked! It took a bit of elbow grease, but I just used a plastic dish scrubber and went to town on the mess, and low and behold it came off. I now have "just like new" stove drip pans and hopefully won't be out another $50.

the countdown begins

Well, we're now in our last week living in Texas. This past week I've spent trying to use up some of my baking goods so that we don't have to figure out how to pack and move them. Lucky for me, Father's day is coming up, and food is always a good gift idea for the hard to shop for father! So, I looked and looked through recipes and decided on what I was going to make. The first was toffee, which sounded like a more difficult recipe than I am normally used to, but not anything I couldn't handle. Or so I thought. I don't know what I did wrong, maybe I didn't let the butter mixture get hot enough. None the less, it didn't really set and it just tasted like sugar butter. Perhaps that's what its supposed to taste like, and if it is, I don't like toffee. So I moved on to phase two, the cinna-spin cookies. Of course the photo showed these perfectly swirrled beauties, that mine didn't quite look up to, however they taste remarkably like cinnamon rolls. Little cinnamon rolls in cute cookie goodness form! So that success made me feel better about the toffee fiasco. My dad likes granola too, so I made a recipe I found in "Where's Mom Now that I Need her?" that worked out pretty well. I'm not sure if it'd hold up as cereal, but its quite tasty on yogurt or just as a snack. We still have quite a bit we'll need to get rid of before the end of Friday, but I think we can do it.

People have been asking about how I feel about our moving, and I can honestly say that it just hasn't hit yet. Of course I've been thinking about it, but since the government is moving us, we're not allowed to pack anything or else they'll just unpack it to check and make sure you're not lying about what you've got packed. So a part of my brain is well aware we're leaving soon, but the other part kind of disregards it, since we haven't packed at all. Its very odd, but come friday, I may be a little frazzled.